#san japan announcement

[lalunanymph]

I BET ON LOSING DOGS

୨୧ an unexpected surprise throws a wrench in your relationship with ken

✧.* ken sato x fem!reader, reader is an uriko (beer girl for japanese baseball games), unprotected s/ex, accidental pregnancy trope, angst with comfort, reader gets harassed, mentions of alcohol, mentions of violence, mentions of injuries, slight ooc!kenji but this is MY interpretation of him, emi makes an appearance, talks about fatherhood, relationship context, flashback heavy, 8k+ words i am so sick for this man

✧.* dawn says: i am absolutely in love with this pathetic milf </3

Life as the girlfriend of Japan’s number one baseball player wasn’t as easy as people think it is. 

The news portals and papers call you a modern day Cinderella, swept from her life of being a simple beer girl, and right into the arms of Japan���s best player, Ken Sato.

Looking back, you never thought you would catch his eye. 

You, a simple Uriko girl trying to get enough commission to pay off your literature degree at a community college, and him, one of the best baseball players to ever grace Japan’s shore. The both of you were a mismatch made on the verdant fields of the biggest game in Ken Sato’s life—and you will never forget the day you first met him. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the game will begin shortly! Please get to your seats and hang on tightly for the match of your life.” 

The announcer’s voice booms across the stadium, echoing the cries and cheers from over 10,000 baseball fans coming to see this legendary playoff between the Giants and the Tigers. 

Working as an Uriko girl—or better known as a baseball girl—came with plenty of challenges. 

There were the heavy bags full of beer that you had to carry up and down the stands, sometimes weighing up to 10kg. The smiles you always have on, the makeup you wear to hide your eyebags from working two part time jobs so you can afford to pay off your literature degree; sweltering heat and a loud, rowdy crowd fuelled by beer from the other keg girls working this cutthroat job. 

Many of them were wannabe idols who perfected the art of cultivating a following on social media and had regulars in the palm of their hands. Only a few handful shared the same fate as you did. 

The truth was, you thought it was just another ordinary day at work when you overhear someone whispering excitedly behind the stands.

“I heard Ken Sato has come out of his break to play this game.” 

Your attention slips from adjusting the straps of your beer keg and you try to listen in on their conversation. 

“He is so cute,” one girl with braided pigtails swoons. 

“Totally,” another agrees, wearing a baseball cap backwards to show off her petite features and pouty lips. “And he’s never dated anyone since coming back to Japan. Maybe one of us could change that for him.”

She giggles, as if it's the funniest joke she’s ever told. 

You try hard not to roll your eyes. A man like Ken Sato would never go for one of these girls. He was the type to exclusively date models and actresses, not struggling Urikos selling beer on the stands.

But, you don’t dash their hopes, and you follow the rest of them in a line, plastering on a smile and mustering up the courage to charm potential buyers into being regulars.

“Ladies and gentlemen—let’s put our hands together for the Giants!”

The roar of the crowd behind the doors shakes through your sneakers, in tandem with the tripling speed of your heartbeat. Electricity sparks through the air, and you can feel it in between your teeth when the stadium doors open and everyone rushes forward, pushing you along the stream of girls ready to break their sales target.

“And Sato-san steps foot into the pitch!”

You step out of the shadows, into the piercing bright light of the open air stadium, its magnetic dome rippling above. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, Ken Sato is back in his element!” 

You take a deep breath and catch a man’s eye. He nods at you and you smile, making your way towards him with a red cup in hand and frozen beer on your back ready to be poured.

Let the game begin. 

 “Ladies and gentlemen, Ken Sato is back in his element!” 

The announcer’s voice booms across the stadium, echoing the cries and cheers from over 10,000 baseball fans coming to see this legendary playoff between the Giants and the Tigers. 

It’s the game of his life, and to say that Ken is nervous would be an understatement. He twists the bat in his hands, adjusts his batting helmet and steps onto the pitch. 

“Oi, Sato—remember, don’t lose your cool,” Coach Shimura sternly warns him before he enters the game, flinty eyes never once softening even when Ken shoots him a reassuring smile. 

“I got this in the bag, coach. Just wait and see.”

Shimura doesn’t scoff, though the corners of his mouth lifts slightly. After months of watching him play in the leagues, the older man can be assured of his star player’s credibility.

Giving him a two finger salute, the young man picks up his favorite bat and high tails it to the edge of the pitch. 

The crowds cheer, their cries reverberating right into his bones. He’s focused, eyes on the pitcher who assesses him from head to toe like he’s vermin on the bottom of his shoes. Ken resists the urge to smirk behind his visor, eyes on the ball and head in the game. 

“Sato! Sato! Sato!” 

He tunes out the cheers, breathing deeply when the pitcher winds his arm back, and the ball goes flying. Narrowing his entire mind on the incoming white blur, he bats and it collides with the hardwood, flying off into the distance. 

“And Sato nails it right out of the park!” 

“Here we go,” Ken mutters under his breath, lurching across the bases until he finally hits a home run. 

The crowd swells like his erratic heartbeat, cheering out his name. Ken gives them a wave, his handsome face plastered all over the big screens, and in the front of the stands, right in the VIP center, his father whoops, raising his cane in exuberance.

Just the sight of the old man fills him with warmth, and Ken doubles back, about to return to his position when a movement on the second bleachers catches his attention.

His sharp, keen eyes catch sight of a man pushing an Uriko girl, goading her on as she backs away, apologizing profusely. He pushes her again, and she stumbles back, dangerously close to the edge of the staircase where she could take a tumble and break her neck.

Ken doesn't know what compels him to lurch right towards her, jumping over the barricade and straight into the stands, much to the crowd’s horror. 

“... you rejected me over and over again…”

“I’m sorry but this is just my job!” 

The red-faced man puffs his chest, and if looks could kill, the poor beer girl would’ve been dead twice over. He’s twice as big as her, and the other spectators are too afraid to jump right in due to his sheer size. But, that’s never stopped Ken Sato before—in fact, bigger opponents were his speciality.

“Oi! Back away from her,” he growls, and before anyone can blink, he’s grabbing the poor, shaken girl and shielding her behind his body. 

The crowds are murmuring, the commentators having a field day announcing every movement of his diversion from the main game. The referee repeatedly blows his whistle, but Ken ignores it, his instinct to protect the weak more important than some league title.

Shimura muscles his way through the crowd, and for a second, Ken thinks he’s gonna blow up on him when the older man glares at the bulky man. 

“Get out of here before I call security on you,” he sneers. “Bullying some poor girl because of your delusions. Tch. Away with you!”

The onlookers jeer him, and he has no choice but to scurry away from the game, tail tucked in between his legs unless he wants to face the wrath of every Ken Sato fan. 

Later that day when you’re washing your face in a nearby restroom, trying hard not to have a full on breakdown that your reputation and sales were ruined, you stumble into a familiar figure who gives you a once over, his mellow voice resonating through you.

“Hey—you’re the beer girl from before, right?”

Ken takes one look at your red-rimmed eyes and clicks his tongue. “Ah. Crap. Must’ve been a horrible experience for you, huh? You’re making me feel bad, angel. You wanna get some food and then we can talk about it?” 

Sliding your eyes over his handsome face, you’re momentarily stunned by those high cheekbones and deeply unnerving violet eyes. His shapely lips and messy dark hair, coupled with his tall, slender build and broad shoulders, makes you suddenly realize that those girls outside the stadium doors were right.

Ken Sato is so cute. 

“I-I—” you stammer, and flush, looking away. Did he just call me angel?

He gives you a sheepish smile, devoid of the cockiness and pride you’ve heard most baseball players possess. 

“Sorry—too forward? I heard girls in Japan were more shy and reserved so you don’t have to say ‘yes’ if you’re uncomfortable—”

“No!” You exclaim, and then start to panic when the rejection settles in for him. “I mean—yes! Yes. I would like to get some food. With you,” you add lamely. “A-are we going now?”

Catching himself before he bursts into laughter, Ken nods, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Sure. I know a great ramen place.”

“Sold,” you say, a smile playing in the corners of your lips. 

Maybe you might’ve messed up your commission for the week and would have to defer your dorm payment for another month, but none of it matters to you right now.

All you could think about was how sweet it would be if you could bring back the smile on Ken Sato’s face—perhaps make him laugh for real this time. 

“Let’s go for dinner, then,” he gestures for you to follow him, and you swear there are stars in your eyes; you can’t stop staring at him. “What’s your name, by the way?” 

“Y/N,” you mumble, and blink when he extends his hand, an easygoing grin on those perfect lips.

“I’m Ken. Sato Ken.” 

I know, you want to say, but tame down the fangirling, taking his hand. His palm is smooth, but his fingers have calluses on them from one too many rough tumbles on the pitch.

“Y/N,” he turns your name over in his mouth and you think it’s never sounded as beautiful as it does now. “It’s nice to meet you.”

You let go of his hand, feeling his warmth sinking past your skin, making your heartbeat kick up a notch. 

“It’s nice to meet you, too… Ken.”

The rest, as they say, is history. 

His large palm smoothes down your tummy, drawing you from the brink of sleep and back into a barely illuminated room. 

You crack your eyes open, one lid at a time, feeling him pushing your hair aside to kiss down the nape of your neck.

“Mhm,” your boyfriend’s sleep-drenched voice, still husky and rough, makes something deep inside of you throb. “Morning, angel. Did you sleep well last night?” 

Stifling a yawn, you nod, much too comfortable in his luxurious king-sized bed. Since coming clean on the dating rumors, Ken had whisked you away from your cramped dorm room to live with him right on the Azabu hills in his expensive, high-tech mansion.

You still went to school and did your assignments, but the biggest difference was you didn't have to worry about food or accommodation like before. 

“Like a log.” You lean into his embrace, loving how sturdy and warm his chest is against your back, making you feel protected and safe. 

“Good morning, Kenji and Y/N. Shall I prepare breakfast for the both of you? Eggs and toast or some pancakes?” 

Mina’s robotic voice chirps from somewhere behind Ken, and you feel him grab a pillow, tossing it over his shoulder. It thuds onto the floor, and you don’t have to look to know that the Sato family’s robot assistant has deftly avoided it.

“Give us some space, Mina,” Ken groans, burying his face into your hair. “It’s cuddle time. We’ll call you when we need you.”

“Alright. But, don’t forget that you have an interview with Tokyo Today at 11AM. Enjoy your morning, Kenji and Y/N.” 

You muffle the urge to laugh, turning around and drinking in the sight of his hazy, adoring violet eyes and sleepy face. Booping the tip of his nose with your index finger, you click your tongue. “Don’t be too mean to Mina. She was just doing her job.”

He grabs your hand and presses it to his cheek, breathing in a deep sigh. “Not my fault someone’s being so enticing today.”

“How can I be enticing?” You tease. “I’m just laying right next to you.”

Ken rolls his eyes, drawing the blanket down to expose your naked shoulder. “Um, duh. My super cute girlfriend is naked in bed with me. What else do you think is on my mind?” 

He loves how your nose crinkles when you laugh, fighting against the urge to kiss you all over for being so adorable.

You place a palm flat on his chest, exerting the slightest bit of pressure and he yields, shifting onto his back. The look of adoration on his face never wanes when you straddle his lap, your hair falling across his face. He pushes it aside with surprising tenderness, a huge palm cupping your face as he strokes the fullness of your mouth with his thumb. 

“I love you, you know that?” 

You kiss the pad of his thumb, basking in his adoration and your pure devotion for him.

“I know.”

Ken arches one dark brow. “Not gonna say it back? How rude.”

You giggle at his petulance, gathering his hands into yours and leaving soft kisses on his knuckles. Ken sucks in a sharp breath when you guide his hands to your chest, encouraging him to palm your heaving breasts. Those violet eyes darken with desire, shooting a dirty thrill right up your spine.

“Already so filthy in the early morning.” He doesn’t protest when you lift your hips, finding his stiffening length and giving it a few good pumps before lining it up to your soaked entrance.

“Just for you,” your feathery whisper gets him harder. 

Tease. You take him inch by inch, and he has to bite down on his lower lip to keep from springing a high-pitched whine when your velvet walls choke his length. 

Your tender nipples turn into hard nubs underneath his palms, the planes of your body a feast for his eyes. 

Kenji thinks he’s never seen such perfection up close.

His large palms fold around your hips, and you let him guide you up and down his cock; controlling the speed and depth, completely pliant in his grasp. 

Ken makes love to you exactly like how he plays on the field: focused, determined and with a firm grip. 

Oh, baby. You mewl, crumpling forward so he can catch you, strong arms vining around your shivering form. 

The scent of sex and skin permeates the room, and you’re close enough that you’re starting to see stars behind your closed eyes. 

Baby, I can’t hold back, he grunts. Need you to come with me—for me. Let’s do it together, okay? 

Your thighs begin to tense, head tipping back. 

His violet eyes darken imperceptibly, drinking you in.

Ken Sato is so fucking in love with you he doesn’t know what to do with himself if you ever got hurt. 

Your soul reaches out to twine with his, your bodies impossibly close until you’re sure your skin is melting into his. 

A burst of white light rocks your entire world, and your universe goes black, filled with only the sensation of his lips on yours and his warmth filling you up.

Ken holds you tightly in the seam of his embrace, kissing your hair and rubbing his cheek all over you like an overgrown cat. You giggle and he joins you, hazily laughing at your hair poking out everywhere.

The moment doesn’t last because Mina pops her head back in, clearing her robotic throat.

“Kenji. 11AM. You have half an hour left to get ready.”

He groans, head thumping back onto the pillows, both your bodies hidden under the blankets so Mina can’t see what he’s been up to, though you’re pretty sure the super smart computer can sense the pheromone shifts in the air.

“Fine. Fine.”

Gently, he nudges you off of him, giving you a kiss on the forehead. Rummaging inside his night stand, he procures a sleek black card and hands it to you without a second thought.

“I’m gonna be busy all day, angel face, so I can’t keep you entertained.” His boyish grin sends flutters in your belly, making you instantly smile. “Go buy something nice and have a good day. I’ll see you tonight.”

You nod and pull him in for another quick kiss; this time, Mina hovers by the doorway, her thin robotic arms arranged like a disappointed mother’s hands on her hips.

“Kenji—”

“Coming, coming,” he groans, and slips on his pajama pants and shirt, giving you a wink.

“Dinner tonight, angel face?”

“Like you need to ask.” You blow him a kiss and he catches it, pressing his palm flat over his heart, simultaneously walking backwards out of the bedroom. 

Once he turns the corner, you exhale, unable to scrub off the lovesick look on your face. 

Bringing his pillow to your face, you inhale the soft scent of his shampoo, forgetting the card and just wanting to bask in his presence a little while longer.

After a day of interviews, Kenji can’t wait to see you again.

He’s asked the chefs to prepare something special for you, a chirashi bowl and your favorite mochi to welcome you back from a day of shopping and classes.

His front door beeps open and you waltz right in, though he can tell something’s off. Your smile’s a little too tight in the corners, and he isn’t sure if the lighting is playing tricks or if your eyes are red-rimmed.

“Baby—”

“Ken, I need to tell you something.”

The truth was you’ve been feeling off the whole week—sleeping in too much, having rapid mood swings, going light-headed whenever you stood up too fast. But, the final strike was when you walked into a ramen shop this afternoon for a quick bite and literally gagged at the smell of freshly cooked rice—which never happens because you love rice more than life. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

Fumbling in your backpack, you don’t look up, rummaging for the small test which has changed your life in a matter of minutes. You bring it to him, noticing his wide eyes and bloodless lips; looking like he’s gone into shock.

He plucks the test from your hands, scrutinizing the double pink lines that cut through him with more pain than any Kaiju claw ever could. 

Without another word, he sets the test down, storming past you and grabbing his leather jacket.

Your world falls apart at the seams when he can’t even look at you, the tufts of dark hair falling across his face being angrily pushed back. Agony rips through your soul, leaving you shell shocked at his reaction, your hands falling uselessly to your side.

“Ken—”

“We’ll talk about this later,” he cuts you off. 

You hear a mechanical whirl behind you, Mina coming to your rescue.

“Ken? Aren’t you going to have dinner with Y/N—?”

“Later,” he snaps at her, and you don’t think you’ve ever seen your tender-hearted boyfriend look this angry; a dark cloud hangs over him, thundering across this room and bringing you right into the eye of his disappointment.

Tears sting behind your lids, and you dash at those pesky droplets before they could fall, running after him.

“Ken, I’m sorry—”

“I need time to think.”

You grab at his sleeve, wishing he would just tell you what was bothering him.

“About what?” you shout in despair.

You’re being unreasonable with his request for space, but you can’t see beyond the fear of losing him after you’ve already lost so much: your parents to a Kaiju attack, your sister to a painful drug addiction. 

You can’t lose Kenji, too.

He tugs at his sleeve back, nearly making you stumble and fall flat on your face. You catch yourself in time, staring at him in pure shock.

Ken curses under his breath, and despite his cruelty, he steadies your shoulders, clasping onto you tightly. Those violet eyes are brimming with anguish, a pain he is unwilling to share with you. From being an open book whose pages you love to read and reread again, he’s now a subject you can’t possibly understand. 

“I need time to myself to think about what to do.” Glancing at the hovering robot, he sighs. “Mina, make sure she gets to bed on time. I’m going for a drive.”

Though she’s programmed to check her Master on orders that do not make sense, her sensors record the cadence of his tone, registering it as pure frustration.

“Of course, Ken. Y/N—come and have some dinner—”

You storm past him, ignoring his squeak of indignation. 

“Where are you going?”

Turning back, your lips pull into a terrifying sneer. “Doing you a favor and leaving first.”

“To where?” His exasperation makes you see red, and you don’t reply, huffing and pushing the door open, speed walking towards your old Camry. 

“Come on. You can’t be serious.” Kenji uses his longer legs to effortlessly catch up to you, grabbing your arm.

The drizzle outside turns into a light rush of rain, steadily soaking you from head to toe. Ken can’t help the flash of panic at the thought of you driving in such bad weather conditions. But, you’re understandably upset with him and can’t think straight—it was his fault for hurting you first.

Heartbreak radiates across your face and he flinches at the sight of tears welling in your eyes. His shoulders sag and he wants nothing more than to reach out to you and hold you tightly to his chest, but you pull away with a sniff and a shake of your head.

“I can’t believe I thought you would be there for me when I needed you the most.”

You tug yourself free from his grasp, opening the car door and rushing inside; giving him one last, stinging look.

Droplets of icy cold water trickle down his face, illuminated faintly by the green neon of your car’s dashboard. 

“Y/N, I…” 

He wants to open his heart to you, tell you everything about the man behind the facade. 

The wounded son, the struggling young baseball star, the giant hero fighting monsters and the dangers that haunt his waking moments…

But, he clams up, holding you back from the truth. 

You exhale brokenly. 

It was just like Ken to always keep you at arm’s length—hovering just out of reach. You’re not sure how long you can stay faithful and patient for him to finally let you into his heart.

“Goodbye, Kenji.” 

He watches your car speed down the driveway, round the bend and out of his life. His broad shoulders curl forward, and he wants so badly to kick his bike into gear and chase after you, apologizing for his mistake.

But the part of him that would always remain selfish, the one untouched by your goodness and the harsh lessons he’s learned in this life, nails him to the spot. 

If he doesn’t chase after you, maybe you might change your mind and get rid of it yourself. 

He shakes his head, a wave of disgust rising in him.

Is this who you really are, Ken Sato? A coward? 

“Ken? It’s raining. Don’t you want to come in?”

Mina’s concern breaks through his destructive thoughts and he sighs. “Mina, do you have a view on her? Where is she going?”

The robot pauses, scanning through the city’s data systems. “She’s right on Odori-chome. Rounding the bend to Takayo Dorms. It looks like she’ll be staying with a friend tonight.”

As much as he loathes the idea of you being pregnant and having to sleep on some poor college student’s floor, Ken knows he has to give you space or else you’ll implode. 

“Okay. If she calls, let me know immediately. She’s pregnant—” He chokes on that word, and Mina gives a concerned whir. “And I’m worried. I’ll see her tomorrow and…” The young man trails off, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Mina, I’m scared.”

She extends one robotic arm, guiding him inside to warmth and dryness, the doors automatically closing behind him. Ken staggers to the couch, kicking the bottom compartment open and finding a can of his favorite Asahi on hand.

He cracks it open, drinking deeply while Mina floats next to him, vigilant and listening.

“Was dad ever scared when mom broke the news to him?”

To his surprise, Mina chuckles. “Why don’t you call him up and ask him yourself?”

Ken considers it, glancing at his watch. Professor Sato was probably already in bed by now, and he didn’t want the old man grilling him on his poor life choices so late in the night.

“... I’ll do it tomorrow. After the playoffs.”

Mina titters and floats in front of him. 

“Whatever mistake you think you’ve made Ken, I know you will have the courage to solve it. You are not like the person you were before—you’ve grown. Changed. And when the time is right, everything will fall back into place.”

Her words marginally comfort him, relieving him of the heaviness in his chest. Ken flashes her a weak smile, drooping his head back against the sofa. He hopes to every god above—both baseball and Kaiju deities—that she’s right.

That no matter how things ended between you two tonight, it will never leave a permanent scar on the future.

“Hey, isn’t that the guy you said you were seeing?” 

Chisa, your roommate from months ago when you still lived near campus, points at the shoddy screen of her twice broken down TV. She’s sipping on a beer while spreadsheets and blueprints litter around her—remnants of last night’s cramp study session which was interrupted by your unexpected return. 

You lift your head from her couch and true enough, the devil in the form of Ken Sato’s confident smile appears on the screen, making your stomach turn and heart twist.

Flopping back onto the hard couch, you sigh. “Yeah.”

Chisa rakes a hand through her platinum blonde hair, stifling a yawn. “You know what—I get it. I would be absolutely shattered too if a hot, successful and rich man dumped me for getting pregnant. You just can’t win everything in life.”

You want to throw a pillow into her face for such harsh words, but a part of you—that small, terrified part—has to agree. 

“So, are you going to keep it?” 

Her sudden question makes you wish you never asked her for a favor in the first place. While Chisa was friendly enough, it was her sharp tongue and blunt nature which often led you two into mini arguments back when you were still living with her.

“I don’t know,” you tell her truthfully, sitting up and feeling a pang of hunger course through you. “It’s not like I can afford a baby right now without—” Your throat swells, the words caught behind a lump.

Chisa has enough grace not to comment on the tears glossing in your eyes. She turns her attention back to the screen to let you rub them away, raising the volume to drown out your quiet sniffles.

The both of you watch the sports segment—her, completely engrossed, and you numbly tracking Ken's every movement on the pitch. It’s a livestream from one of his games happening this morning, the very first game you won’t be cheering him on from the stands.

Without much thought, you touch your belly, wondering if the little life in there could see his or her daddy on screen. The reality that this would be the only way they could meet their own father makes you tear up again, and you reach for your dead phone, needing to at least hear his voice again. 

It didn’t matter if Ken Sato didn’t want you in his life or if he refused to acknowledge the child you’re carrying as his. You just needed to know he would still be there for you.

Hooking it to a cable, you switch your phone back on, and instantly, a stream of messages swarm in.

I know you never liked it whenever I asked Mina to keep an eye on you, but she told me you’re rooming with a friend. Chisa, right? I hope she doesn’t make you sleep on the floor.

Another text. 

Yikes. Reading that again, I sound like an absolute dick. What I meant to say was that I hope you’re comfortable and you can rest well. I know the way we ended things was messy to sum it up, but I really hope this wouldn’t be the last time we see each other. 

The last text, sent around one in the morning, three hours after your epic fight, reads:

I miss you. Goodnight, baby. Sleep well.

You lift your gaze to the TV again, and start to notice the dark circles under his eyes. The hard set of his mouth. Ken still loves me—he still wants this. Your heart leaps, and you turn your attention back to the screen, typing out: 

I miss you. I’m sorry. I 

A sudden tremor rocks the house, and your phone goes clattering to the ground. Chisa’s loud yelp rings through your mind as the shakes get more and more intense, as if it's getting closer.

Outside the dorms, screams erupt and alarms blare. The symphonic pattern of the warning is unmistakable: there is a Kaiju nearby.

You lurch to your feet, dragging Chisa by the arm, jolting her into action. 

The sound of hundreds of feet running in one direction burns through your mind; Chisa’s arm is a constant around you as she drags you down the road, trying to find shelter from the impending danger. 

It’s a lizard or moth hybrid with a wide wingspan and sharp rows of teeth. You’ve seen news reports of Kaijus before, but you’ve never dared to think you would see one up close. Spikes adorn its tail which goes crashing into buildings and houses, debris raining to the screaming crowd below like a reckoning halestorm.

Car alarms blare, in tandem with the rising panicked screams of hundreds of students and teachers who were caught off guard by this sudden attack.

“Look!” Someone yells, and in the distance, you see a human-like shape approaching fast. 

“Ultraman!”

“He’s here!” 

“He’s here to save us!”

Chisa, whose lips are bloodless and cheeks pale with fright, leads you up the stairs of the business school building, where you both can find higher ground to avoid the falling debris.

In your panic, you trip on a large rock and tumble to the ground, a loud, ominous crack resounding throughout this concrete cube you’ve both locked yourselves in.

“Shit!” Chisa bends down to inspect your ankle. She tries to lift it, but a searing pain cuts through your entire body, your shriek of agony making her flinch. “Fuck. Oh, fuck. This isn’t good. This isn’t—”

Boom!

The doors of the building fly off, and the monster sticks its muzzle inside, sniffing around for its prey. Having scented you and Chisa, it releases a loud screech, and before both of you could even blink, the roof flies off, its sharp talons reaching inside and grabbing you. 

The sudden loss of gravity strains your broken foot and you scream in agony and fear.

“Y/N!” 

As the monster lifts you right to its face, you think—this is it. 

Every nerve in your body is frozen, your mouth falls open and you might’ve screamed—you can’t hear yourself or feel your body or your hands or even your broken foot anymore.

This is how I will die. 

“We interrupt this game to announce that there’s a Kaiju attack nearby. All civilians are requested to proceed to the nearest emergency exit. We interrupt this game to announce—”

As the stadium erupts in chaos, Ken hears the worst news his nightmares could conjure when someone screams: “The Kaiju—it’s attacking Takayo University!” 

His mind goes into overdrive, his body catching up as he feels the familiar muscles stretching and pulling, turning him into a 50-foot gargantuan hero. Mina chirps to life, and he’s never heard a robot sound so serious before.

“Ken, Gigan is approaching Takayo University. I can’t seem to get a hold on Y/N’s signal. I think her phone is switched off.”

Damn it—damn it all to hell! 

He pushes his body to the max, racing towards your direction, hoping against all hope that you were somewhere safe. 

The young hero wouldn’t know what to do if he lost you.

“Her messages were all gray yesterday. Her phone’s out of juice,” he snaps back. “Run a search on Chisa’s signal. They should be together.”

“Alright,” Mina whirs. “Chisa’s signal: located. They’re at the Business Faculty Park. I have sent you the coordinates.”

A flash of numbers and lines appear in front of him. Ken reads them quickly and nods. “Got it. Mina, alert dad and tell him Y/N might be harmed. Prepare the base, if needed. If she’s gone, I’ll lose my fucking mind.”

Mina doesn’t comment on his language—she chirps back, “Noted. Calling Professor Sato now.” 

He sees it then—Gigan the monster who’s stomping around and has something in its grubby claws.

“Mina, I see it. I—”

Ken thinks the light is playing tricks on him. There’s a flash of a familiar sheen of hair, a smaller figure held inside Gigan’s monstrous grip.

“Mina, enhance visibility—what is it holding?!” 

The sight enlarges, and Ken gasps. His shock turns into anger, and he’s taking off towards the beast, not caring of anything else in his path as he summons all his anger into a fist and knocks the giant lizard’s head backwards. Gigan’s grip loosens and Ken rushes forward to catch you, holding you tightly to his chest with one hand. 

With the monster down for a moment, he glances at his palm, unfurling his fingers to find your pale, frightful face staring right at him.

“Ultraman,” you gasp, and his heart breaks when he notices streaks of tears running down your face. 

You must’ve been scared shitless for your life.

“Are you alright?” The tenderness seeps through his tone, and he can’t fight back the cresting wave of loathing and self-hatred when you wrap your arms around your midsection, nodding tearfully.

“I-I’m fine—look out!” 

He holds you to his chest, careful not to crush you in his grip as he spins around, deftly avoiding Gigan’s tail as it careens right into his face. The Kaiju raises itself on its hind legs, releasing an earth shattering roar.

Ken cringes back. He needs to find you a safe spot; he can’t bring you into battle like this.

Sprinting away from the carnage, all the screams and fear fade into the distance, his mind hellbent on getting you to safety.

Finding a relatively high rise building that’s been torn apart by the Kaiju and left for ruin, he gently unfurls his hand, placing you back on solid ground as if you’re a Lego figure he needs to safekeep.

You drop to your knees, unable to hold yourself up. Ken sweeps his gaze over you, and without thinking, says: “Mina, run a scan on her. Is she safe?” 

Loyal to a fault, she follows his orders, coming to a hard pause when your screech reaches both their attention.

“Mina?! Hang on—”

Despite his sheer size and how tinier you are in comparison, Ken flinches when you march up to him, looking right into his glowing eyes.

The masked hero whose identity has been hidden since the day he assumed the role of Tokyo’s protector, freezes like a deer caught in headlights and for a moment, nothing exists in this world besides your eyes on his. You reach out, tips of your fingers caressing his armored cheek. 

As if an unspoken truth comes to light, your eyes widen, and you touch both hands onto his cheek, skimming them across his nose. Those wide, luminescent eyes slip close, like he's enjoying your touch.

“It’s you.” Your choked gasp tears at his soul, and Ken opens his eyes to find you crying, a palm pressed right to your mouth. “Oh my God. It really is you. It—”

Your knees buckle, unable to hold yourself upright to such a heavy truth. You slide to the ground and he reaches out a hand, letting you lean against his much bigger palm. His heart is beating so fast, he has to remind himself to breathe so he doesn’t transform in front of you and can’t protect the rest of the civilians from Gigan.

“Ken,” you say his name like a prayer, curling your much smaller fingers around his ring one, feeling the smooth armor of his alien skin under your touch. “Ken. I knew something was off about you but I—”

This pure moment of ecstatic discovery is cut off by a loud screech. 

Ken hears Gigan approach and he’s about to urge you to be safe when you lurch to your feet and stumble towards him.

It’s a split second of unadulterated heaven opening its white, pearly gates when your head touches his gargantuan forehead. You breathe and he breathes, the both of you suspended in this time and space where it's just the two of you in this world—human and beast, lover and monster. 

“Come back to me.” 

That’s all you say, all you have the time to elucidate before he’s ripped away by Gigan’s claws. 

Your cry pierces through his soul, and before he falls, he casts a protective shield around you, trapping you in a blue bubble of safety. 

But, it’s a miscalculated move. 

Gigan’s tail whips around, knocking the base of the building. One second, Ken’s eyes are locked on yours, and in the next moment, the entire roof falls on top of you.

“Nooooo!” 

Ken fights out of the monster’s grasp, using his sheer strength to dig his fingers into the creature's mouth and tear its entire head clean off by its jaw. 

Ending its life for daring to hurt yours.

This is it. 

He doesn’t care that his father would call this cruel—doesn't care for the mess and press comments calling him unhinged or for the KDF commending him on his efficiency in killing off a Kaiju.

This is his entire universe coming to an end. 

The tap tap tap of Professor Sato’s cane on the steel floors of the family’s underground base barely rouses Kenji from his vigil by your sickbed.

From his vantage point, Hayao easily notices his son’s sunken eyes, the unshaven chin and exhausted slump in his shoulders. Ken is holding his phone in one hand, occasionally glancing at a message on the smeared screen. His sharp eyes catch an unfinished message, glossing over it as Ken finally hears his footsteps and pockets his phone hastily.

I miss you. I’m sorry. I

A heavy weight settles in his chest like grease, and the older man exhales a sigh.

Without another word, he takes a seat next to his weary son, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Kenji, you’ve been down here for days. You need to see the sun—stretch and eat a proper meal.” 

He turns those solemn, violet eyes he passed down to his son onto the faint pallor of a young woman resting in a medically-induced deep sleep inside the emergency pod, her chest rising and falling slowly. 

Your vital stats on a holographic board floats in front of him, and Hayao stifles a sigh when he sees a tiny, bean-shaped blob hovering in another panel, its features barely formed but already so dear to him. 

Kenji can barely look at the vitals of his unborn child, eyes closed and head hung heavily as if the weight of the world drags his shoulders down. It might as well have, judging from the mess Hayao had to clean up when his son was too emotionally strained to handle the aftermath of Gigan’s attack.

“I can’t leave her side,” he replies monotonously. 

Hayao recognizes that despair Kenji exudes, having experienced it many, many times over his twenty plus years of being a father. 

Unexpectedly, he chuckles, and Kenji raises his head, finding his father’s expression faraway, nostalgia glistening in his rheumy eyes. 

“Oh, I remember the time your mother broke the news that she was expecting you.”

Any mention of Emiko would draw Kenji’s attention like a moth to a flame. His son listens, patiently waiting for him to reveal the next part.

Hayao smiles and shakes his head. “Just like how you reacted, I was stunned. I had to sit down when she passed me the test. It was the first time she’s ever seen me speechless.” Grasping his son’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze, the older Sato sighs. 

“Kenji, there comes a time in every man’s life when he has to sit down and evaluate if he’s the right fit for fatherhood. Any man can be a father, but it takes a noble, patient, and kind-hearted man to be a dad.”

He continues. “Children aren’t easy. Human children, that is. Kaiju ones grow too quickly and already have a set path due to their nature,” he chortles at the memory of Emi, and Ken can’t resist smiling at that. 

“But, babies… They test us. Show us what we lack and how imperfect we are. They have their own dreams, needs and wants. They’re loud, messy and take up so much of your heart, thoughts and peace. But, despite all of that, they’re our hopes and dreams.” Hayao chuckles. “If anyone were to ask me what my greatest legacy is, I would never say ‘Ultraman’ or the research I’ve done over the years.”

Ken listens to him raptly, violet eyes wide and waiting. 

Hayao finally looks at him, and in those similar purple orbs, he finds a kindred spirit—someone who knows his burdens inside and out because he’s lived through them all for half of his life.

“My greatest legacy is you, Kenji. My son.” 

A wizened finger taps on the screen, and the room fills up with the echoing pulse of a second heartbeat, fainter like its coming from the bottom of the ocean. But, it’s as strong as his own, and in that, Ken feels the anger, despair and disappointment he holds for himself slowly dissipating like steam on a hot day.

“And after seeing how much you’ve sacrificed and learned from raising Emi, I know this baby would be so lucky to have you as a dad.”

Hayao gets to his feet with slight difficulty, patting Ken’s shoulder. 

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Kenji. It will all work out just fine. Take it one day at a time, alright?”

Ken wants to ask about the neverending dread, if his father ever feared putting his family in danger—the perils of parenting and how he’s going to juggle baseball, Ultraman and being a dad (a real one, this time) all at once.

Like he’s heard his son’s uncontrollable thoughts, Hayao turns back to give him one last piece of sage advice. 

“Everything will be okay. You are Kenji Sato—your mother’s son and my son. You will never be alone.” He glances at your resting form. “And she will never leave you. A woman who readily accepts our family’s duty and burdens is a rare gem indeed, son.”

“But, mom did the same,” he blurts out, brows knitting together. “She accepted you with open arms, too. How can you say it’s rare when it has happened before?”

Hayao’s eyes sparkle as if Ken has finally found the answer to his perpetually troubling question.

“That’s why I married her.”

He leaves Ken alone to ponder his words, the doors closing behind his frail form. 

The young man turns back to your pod, placing a hand over the reinforced glass, right over your belly.

Before he can stop himself, he presses his forehead against the cool metal, sighing.

“Well, you heard him,” he mutters. “The second you wake up, baby, I’m locking you down—there’s no shaking me off this time.”

A click. A whir. 

The world slowly comes back to focus and you furrow your brow, biting back a groan. Your body faintly pulses with pain, like it’s remembering the trauma you suffered through a five year memory fade.

But, your limbs work, and it doesn't hurt to breathe. 

“Hey, you’re awake.”

That voice… 

You pry your eyes open and the second you recognize his face, you think you could break down and cry. Soft violet eyes appraise you, slender fingers reaching out to tenderly graze your cheek.

“Ken…” 

He catches your embrace, holding you so tightly you think you might suffocate. The feel of his arms around you is like coming home after a long day, and you think he might feel the same way, his heartbeat thudding erratically under your cheek.

“I’m so sorry. So, so sorry,” he apologizes over and over again. It takes all of your willpower not to tear up at the look of defeat on his face. You cup his cheek, bringing him closer so both your foreheads can touch. 

“It’s alright, Ken,” you murmur, free hand running through his thick, raven locks. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”

He cradles your tummy at the reminder, looking like a puppy that’s been kicked to the curb. 

“I was so mean to you. And to Peanut. I’m so sorry—”

“Peanut?” You blink, and he doubles back, scratching the back of his head.

“I, um… may have given the baby a nickname while you were, uh, recovering.”

Your lovely, silly boyfriend thought you would be angry when it is the furthest from the truth. “Peanut, huh?” 

You place your hand over his, drinking in this moment of having your entire family right here, safe and sound. 

“I like it. Peanut.” Your smile is saint-like, warm like the first sun rays breaking through a long, dark night. “Peanut is perfect for him or her.” 

He doesn’t deserve the grace and forgiveness you’ve shown him and Kenji thinks that for the rest of his life he wants to atone for all the wrongs he’s ever committed. 

Your health is his priority, and kick-starting this renewed promise to you, he’s there every step of the way during your recovery—feeding you, bathing you, helping you regain your ability to walk without needing a crutch, taking you to physiotherapy classes so you would be mobile again after breaking your leg. 

He even shows you Kaiju Island with his dad, Professor Sato and him catching up with a now one year old Emi who’s grown into her wingspan and new abilities. At first, you were terrified to meet the Kaiju baby your boyfriend once raised, but the moment she scented you, she was all over you like an overly-friendly cat.

Her beak presses against the barely-there swell of your belly, and she coos in delight.

Looks like Emi is happy to be a big sister. Professor Sato laughs at that, thumping his son on the back. 

Siblings—Kaiju and a human—I’ll have to trash my entire research thesis because nothing can compare to this!

You move back in with Ken, ditching your old dorm and studying from home to accommodate your growing belly and fatigue. Your lecturers were understanding enough, though you suspect the Ken Sato’s reputation was enough for them to give you some leeway.

Ken reduces his time spent on the pitch to be home with you and the baby, catching the press’ attention who start to wonder if the great Ken Sato is cracking yet again.  Eventually, it's his old frenemy, Ami, who spots him leaving a prenatal clinic with you one rainy morning after tailing him for days. 

Your boyfriend literally has to bribe her with two months worth of free Tonkatsu dinners on his card before she lets the scoop go, giving you a sympathetic look that makes you laugh and Ken indignant. 

Life was back to normal—or, as normal as it could be after finding out your boyfriend is literally a 50-foot alien superhero who fights monsters. 

One night where you’re both just lazing around on the sofa, Ken decides to show more of his world to you, and tugs your hand, leading you to the underground base which he affectionately dubs his ‘mancave’. 

There, he asks Mina to pull up an old recording of Emiko on the stands and officially introduces his girlfriend to his mother. 

“She’s beautiful, Ken.” You approach her with a fond smile, and his arms wrap around you; heart filled with pure happiness at the sight of his two favorite women in one room. Ken kisses the top of your head and then sighs. 

“I wish you could meet her, baby. She would’ve loved you to the moon and back.”

He tells you of the efforts to retrieve her from a wormhole; how he spends everyday wondering if the next time he sees his mother, he’ll be just as old and gray as her. You’re there for his every rumination, every fear. 

“My parents separated when I was really young,” he confesses while you’re both lying in bed in each other’s arms, giving you another piece of his childhood that you welcome with no judgment. “I don’t want to be like my dad—putting Kaijus or my career first that I lose the both of you.”

At those words, you take his face in your hands, looking him in the eye as you shake your head. “You will never lose me, Kenji Sato. I’m yours and you’re mine. We’re in this as a team and we’ll see this through.” Echoing his father’s advice, you grin. “Let’s just take this one day at a time, okay?”

With his past revealed and double identity known, it’s your turn to be there for him in a different way. 

When the voices of doubt get too loud for him, you don’t let him wallow in his misery for long, encouraging him to teach you how to bat a ball or letting him press his cheek to your growing tummy so he can feel Peanut moving around. 

You meant every word you said to him that night in the tender darkness: you were both a team. No matter how bad the storm hits, you would weather it together. 

One day, without you expecting it, Ken proposes to you while you’re both watching a movie.

“I can’t walk down the aisle!” You pout, and he’s taken aback, thinking you’re flat out rejecting him when you point at your nose. “My nose will be all squished and the photos will come out ugly,” you whine. “Pregnancy noses are a thing,” you try to convince him as he bends over in laughter.

“Baby,” he wipes the tears from his eyes, broad shoulders shaking with repressed mirth. “Squished nosh or not, I still love you, squirt.”

He removes a simple, velvet box from his pants pocket and reveals a ring with your birthstone and his on it. You whisper about a hundred ‘yes's’ in response to his “Will you marry me, sweetheart?”; tearing up when he slips the ring onto your left hand and brings it to his lips, kissing your knuckles affectionately.

“Have I ever told you I love you so, so much, baby?”

Though you have no idea what’s in store in the future with a man who can turn into a superhero, and a whole new world of monsters, baseball and parenthood to navigate, you thank your lucky stars that he’s right beside you for the journey. 

“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hear it again.”

He chuckles and kisses your cheek, the feel of his smile on your skin like the embrace of home.

“I love you.” 

“Hah,” you look up, starry-eyed and in love as you push his bangs out of the way. “I love you, too, Kenji Sato.”

— feedback and reblogs are appreciated <3

©️ all works belong to lalunanymph. do not copy, repost or claim my plot points, structure and elements of work as your own.

[dumbseee]

boyfriend!iwaizumi when you’re a famous idol.

iwaizumi hajime x fem!reader.

genre: fluff.

warnings: bad english/grammar :p /mention of the kpop industry (in here, dating someone is less taboo than it is in real life) / first work so it’s not that good.

_

after high school, you left japan for south korea, you always had this dream of becoming a kpop idol. during your time in seijoh, you were already known for being an amazing dancer but also for your angelic voice.

iwaizumi would always brag about you to the volleyball team, oikawa would tease him about you leaving him for a famous korean actor, after you became famous. to which, iwaizumi would respond with a kick in his friend’s back. truth be told, he was actually very scared of what the future had in store for you two after high school. he didn’t know if long distance would work for you, or if you even wanted it in the first place.

during your last school day, iwaizumi walked you back home, like he always did, but he seemed out of it and almost, sad? you asked him what was wrong and he told you that if you wanted to break up with him to focus on your dreams, he’d respect your decision and always support you. he couldn’t even look at you, tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes as he tried his best to keep a straight face. his words surprised you and broke your heart because you never knew that iwaizumi could be so dumb to think that you’d break up with him like that. "no matter the distance, it will never make me forget about how much i love you, hajime."

so you left for south korea and he left for america to study. you two called each other everyday, when you two were too busy, you’d try to call at least twice a week. iwaizumi was busy with school and finals took all his time while your trainee program took up yours. but somehow you two made it work. a few years later, you debuted as a soloist and sold millions with your first album whilst iwaizumi came back to japan after graduating, and became an athletic trainer for japan national volleyball team. you couldn’t be prouder of him, and you were his pride. he streamed all your songs, putting them on speaker while the boys would practice, he brought all your albums and watched the variety shows you were featured in. he was basically the president of your fanclub. and he wasn’t ashamed of it.

you two always made sure to go together on vacation in a foreign country, where kpop wasn’t really the thing. the distance actually strengthened your relationship since being apart of each other for so long, made the reunion better. you knew iwaizumi was it for you, and he was also your muse for your music. your fans often joked about how inspired and how deep your love songs were. it made you laugh to read all their theories about you being married to a farmer. if only they knew…

iwaizumi never minded being your secret boyfriend, he actually liked it that way. he didn’t know if he could bare being in the public eye every time. knowing that you were south korea’s sweetheart, being your public boyfriend would mean saying goodbye to his peaceful life, and iwaizumi wasn’t ready for that. well, he wasn’t ready yet. one day, he woke up to his phone being blown up by messages, actually tons of messages, from the groupchat he shared with the japan national team. he even had missed calls from oikawa, and all his close friends.

shoyo: IWAIZUMI-SENPAIIIIII

SID YOU SEE HHE NEWS???

kageyama: learn how to spell, idiot.

ushijima: blowing up his phone isn’t the best way to announce something like that.

bokuto: HAJI-SAN IT’S TERRIBLE ARE YOU OKAY??

atsumu: JUST SHUT UP

let the man wake up peacefully damn

shoyo: IT WAS TO BE A FAKE NEWS RIGHT??

bokuto: YEAH L/N-SAN WOULD NEVER DO THAT

iwaizumi: what the fuck?

ushijima: you should check twitter, hajime.

iwaizumi had frowned, but went on twitter, an app you forced him to subscribe to. apparently it was the genz’s newspaper. to his surprise, your face was all over his feed, it wasn’t surprising because he liked everything about you, followed dozens of fan account and basically became a fan account himself. but what surprised him was seeing those big account talking about your "relationship" with a famous korean actor.

"l/n y/n, the famous soloist who stole everyone’s heart with her heartfelt songs and beautiful looks, is dating a/l a/n!"

his eyes widened as he typed your name to call you immediately. his heart was beating so fast as he didn’t know how to feel about this. of course it was fake news, right? he knew you’d never cheat on him, you loved each other and iwaizumi couldn’t see his life without you in it. he quickly became aware of how much he loved you and how important you were in his life. without you, iwaizumi would be nothing but an empty shell. "hajime? thank god, i tried to call you!" your voice made him release a breath he didn’t know he was holding. "you saw, right?" your voice was small and for a second he thought that maybe you called him to announce your new relationship with this dumbass actor. "yeah, it’s not that fun to wakeup to your friends blowing up your phone and news outlets talking about your girlfriend’s relationship with that fucker." he rubbed his face with his free hand. "these idiots took pictures of us while we were in cabo and thought it was a/n. apparently you two look alike." he heard you chuckle which made him feel warm inside. he hated the fact that he doubted you for a second. suddenly, an idea popped up in his head, a crazy one but still. "you have an award show in a week right?" he asked you, a smile tugging at his lips. "yeah, why?"

well, iwaizumi’s idea was indeed crazy but you didn’t care, you were down for it. and as your name got called in the category, "best female artist", iwaizumi was next to you, he stood up before you could even understand what was going on, and he kissed you. showing to the world, that you were his as much as he was yours. it was a crazy way to launch your relationship to the world, but you didn’t care, because as long as you were together, nothing could happen.

[vintage-every-day]

15 August 1945: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles and Marlene Dietrich enjoying coffee at KFWB, a Los Angeles radio station, after announcing the news of Japan’s surrender.

The San Fernando Valley Times reported: “KFWB had the most “glamorous” copy-girls in the nation during last Monday’s all-night alert caused by word of Japan’s surrender. Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth, who came to the studio with Orson Welles early Monday evening stayed all night, watching the teletypes and rushing bulletins to the microphone, where Welles did a “marathon” commentary lasting most of the night.”

[pocketjoong]

❥𓂃𓏧BIRTHDAY SURPRISE

ꕥ𓂃𓏧 (SYNOPSIS): Wooyung decides to surprise you on your birthday...twice!

ꕥ𓂃𓏧 (PAIRING): Idol!Wooyoung x gn!reader

ꕥ𓂃𓏧 (GENRE AND AU/TROPE): fluff. established relationship. a sprinkle of angst. sfw.

ꕥ𓂃𓏧 (WARNINGS): just lots and lots of fluff. wooyoung is whipped for you.

ꕥ𓂃𓏧 (WORD COUNT): 1.4k

ꕥ𓂃𓏧 (A/N): HAPPY BIRTHDAY TWINNIE @nebulousbrainsoup!! I hope you have the most amazing day ahead!! <3 I'm honeslty super super thankful to have met you, and it honestly makes me go 👁👄👁 when I look back at how far we've come in the last year (from being moots to being friends and you becoming a super important person to me). I love you so much and I hope you enjoy reading this lil wooyo floof!!

“Hi, love,” Wooyoung’s voice greets you warmly as the video call connects. In the background, the bustling activity of the other ATEEZ members winding down after their schedules in Japan is evident.

“Hi, Woo!” you reply, mustering a sleepy smile. You’d been woken by the vibrating of your phone and were about to turn it off when you realised who was calling you.

Upon hearing your voice, the ATEEZ members divert their attention to Wooyoung’s phone, their faces breaking into wide smiles upon recognizing who he was talking to.

“Look who’s here!” San exclaims excitedly, leaping over a couch to join Wooyoung. “Happy birthday!”

His cheerful words are echoed by the rest of the members, prompting Wooyoung to playfully complain about being beaten to the punch in wishing you.

“You should’ve wished them at midnight like I did,” Yeosang teases his friend, while Seonghwa smoothly intercepts the phone from him. “Happy birthday! Did this troublemaker wake you up? It’s probably super early where you are.” He frowns, trying to mentally calculate what time it is for you. “You’re like… more than half a day behind us, aren’t you?”

You grin at Seonghwa’s remark. “It’s all good; I needed to be up early anyway.”

“Why’s that? Isn’t it the weekend?” Yunho interjects, leaning in next to Seonghwa so that his face is visible to you.

“Your exams are done, so you can sleep in today! It’s your birthday after all,” Mingi adds, appearing on Seonghwa’s other side.

“I’m going out with friends for the day,” you explain.

“GIMME MY PHONE!!!” Wooyoung’s voice echoes through the screen, causing the other boys to flinch at the volume; you can also hear Hongjoong admonishing him to lower his voice. After a flurry of movement, Wooyoung reappears on the screen, having left the room. “Sorry about that. So, what else are you gonna do today?”

“I’m not sure honestly, my friends have a lot planned today, so I’m probably going to be with them for the rest of the day.”

“I wish I were there,” he sighs wistfully. Finding a table to perch on, Wooyoung hops onto it, yelping when it wobbles. You shake your head at his antics, cautioning him to be careful.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there for your birthday, love,” Wooyoung’s voice carries a hint of melancholy.

“It’s okay, honestly. I wasn’t there for your birthday either. Even though I tried to get a couple of days off from uni to go see you in Seoul,” you reply, offering him a reassuring smile. “When you come back here in a few weeks, we can go out and celebrate both our birthdays. Or stay in to do that. I wouldn’t mind either.”

“Let’s do that.”

Just then, the doorbell rings, and you frown in confusion; you aren’t been expecting anyone this early. Your friends had told you to be ready by 10, which is almost 4 hours away. Making small talk with Wooyoung, you head to the door to see who’s at the door.

“There’s a delivery for you,” the man at the door announces, presenting you with a beautiful bouquet of red geraniums, pink ranunculus, and white gardenias. Along with it, he hands you a small box from your favorite bakery.

Taking the gifts inside, you eagerly look through the bouquet for a card, your eyes lighting up with joy when you find one. Lost in the moment, you momentarily forget about Wooyoung, unaware of the silence that had fallen over the call.

My dearest,

Happy Birthday! Words fail to express just how thankful I am for your existence. I’m sorry that I can’t celebrate your day with you in person today, but I hope this small gesture can bring you even a fraction of the joy you bring into my life.

With this bouquet, I wanted to convey the depths of my love and admiration for you. Each day, I am profoundly grateful that fate brought us together, even if it began with the clumsy spill of coffee on your favorite white hoodie (my sincerest apologies for that).  I wouldn’t change it for the world because it gave me the greatest gift of my life: you.

Please enjoy your day to the fullest and celebrate yourself! I hope you can feel the love I’m sending from across the ocean.

Yours, always,

Wooyoung

P.S. I’ve also included assorted cupcakes from your beloved bakery!

Unbeknownst to you, tears well up in your eyes and a single droplet cascades down your cheek, landing softly on the card. Startled, you brushed the tear away, your gaze shifting to Wooyoung’s face on your phone screen.

“I love you,” you manage to say, too choked up to say anything else.

A warm smile spreads across Wooyoung’s face. “I love you too, tears and all.”

“You’re so unserious,” you teased, mustering a laugh despite the tears. “But thank you for this. It truly made my day.”

“Now, what are you waiting for?” Wooyoung’s playful tone fills the air once more. “Light a candle on that cupcake so I can serenade you with the best performance of ‘Happy Birthday’ that you’ve ever heard.”

A sudden clatter startles you awake, pulling you from the depths of slumber. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you wonder about the source of the noise, your mind still foggy with sleep. A muttered curse sends a jolt of apprehension through you – you are supposed to be alone. Quietly, you slip out of bed, reaching for your pepper spray and phone, prepared for the worst.

To your surprise, the intruder in the kitchen isn’t a stranger. Instead, you find a familiar black-haired figure rummaging through the refrigerator.

“Wooyoung?” you call out, lowering your defenses as you recognized the figure.

Caught off guard by your presence, Wooyoung jumps at the sound of your voice, accidentally bumping his head in the process.

“Ouch, love, why did you have to scare me like that?” Wooyoung pouts, massaging the back of his head as he turns to face you. His expression shifts from playful to apprehensive as he registers your presence.

“Well?” you prod, curious about his unexpected appearance in your kitchen considering he’s supposed to be in Japan and not in your kitchen. “What are you doing?”

“I was attempting to whip up some pancakes, but I seem to have botched it,” he confesses sheepishly, presenting the thin batter that fails to resemble pancake mix. “I may have gone overboard with the milk, and it appears we’re fresh out of pancake mix…”

“I do have more in the pantry, actually,” you chuckle at his bashful smile, handing him the unopened box. “What brings you here, though? Weren’t you supposed to return to Seoul later tomorrow?”

“I might have sweet-talked manager-nim into letting me come to see you earlier,” he confesses, pouring a cup of mix into the bowl and muttering a small ‘yay’ as it reaches the perfect consistency. “I couldn’t make it in time for your birthday, though. I had to take a connecting flight from LA, and then the drive was kinda long...”

“I’m not complaining. Now that you’re here, I’m not planning on letting you go,” you tease, wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your face into the warmth of his neck from behind.

“That doesn’t sound too bad, honestly,” he says with a smile, turning around in your embrace and gently rubbing his nose against your cheek before placing a tender kiss there. Unable to resist any longer, he leans in and plants a playful kiss on your lips. You can’t help but giggle as Wooyoung lifts you onto the counter, his hand tracing over your thighs.

“I missed you so much,” he murmurs against your lips, playfully nipping at them. Then, with a teasing flick of his tongue over your bottom lip, he pulls away and gestures toward the dining table. “Go sit down, or I’ll never finish breakfast.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you can’t resist me,” you tease, playfully dodging when he attempts to catch you.

“The pancake is burning, you goof. Go rescue it,” you point toward the kitchen, hoping he’d heed your words.

Wooyoung shoots you a playful glare, torn between saving the pancake and indulging in a tickle fight. Duty wins over mischief, and you breathe a sigh of relief as he hurries off.

“I hope you know that I’m not letting this go so easily,” he calls back with a mischievous grin.

[jadeazora]

New All-Stars plushies from San-ei have been announced, with the majority of them releasing in Japan in November! (Dragapult, Reshiram, and Zekrom release in December!)

[ynnova]

𐙚⋆˚ BASiC iNFORMATiON ───── OH WHO IS SHE ?

NAME : Y/N

STAGE NAME : Y/N

NiCKNAMES : ATEEZ'S Supernova, ATEEZ'S Odd Fairy, K-Pop's It Girl to End All It Girls, Trinket Girl

BiRTHDAY : August 4, 1999

BiRTH PLACE : Misty Falls, South Carolina

HOMETOWN : Osaka, Japan

SPOKEN LANGUAGES : English (fluent), Japanese (fluent), Korean (mostly fluent)

𐙚⋆˚ CAREER iNFORMATiON ───── THE SUPERNOVA !

COMPANY : KQ Entertainment (2017 - present), SM Entertainment (2012-2016)

GROUP : ATEEZ (2018 - present), KQ FELLAZ (pre-debut), SM ROOKIES (pre-debut)

OCCUPATiON : Singer, Song-Writer, Producer, Model, Actress

DEBUT DATE : October 24, 2018

SOLO SONG : Cosmic

ANiTEEZ : YNNIEHANA

iNSTAGRAM : @/hauteyn

EMOJi : 🍓 / 🪱 (fans usually use the strawberry and y/n has used the worm in the past)

PERSONAL FANDOM NAME : YN-INATORS 🤖

SiGNATURE : writes her signature in a very fancy cursive print, usually signs her name in english when signing things for fans. along with her name she usually draws a small, cat-like doodle under the last letter of her name.

𐙚⋆˚ TRiViA ───── THE WORLD OF Y/N !

she's an only child.

she also has two cats named bebe and meow.

her and her parents moved from the states to japan when she was around five and has lived there for most of her life up until she became a trainee in 2012 and began living in korea. as of 2024, her parents are now back in the states.

was originally an smrookie trainee at sm entertainment, y/n was one of the first ones to be announced and quickly became one of their most popular trainees.

she was a cast member on the mickey mouse clubhouse along with other smrookies. she would eventually leave sm entertainment in 2016 after them continuously breaking promises on debuting.

she was very admired by some of her classmates and would often get letters and small gifts.

she is friends with several sm artists as she trained with a lot of them. those included are: red velvet's joy and yeri, nct dream, nct's yuta, and more recently aespa.

her first concert was hikaru utada and y/n often cites her as one of her main inspos for wanting to pursue a music career.

has a total of six tattoos which is currently the most out of any member.

she's a big fan of older survival horror games like siren, fatal frame, haunting grounds, clock tower, rule of rose.

some other games y/n is a fan of is no more hero, kingdom hearts, resident evil, and animal crossing.

the concept y/n wants ateez to try the most is either a barbie concept or a horror concept.

in 2023, it was announced that y/n and san were dating and had been in a relationship since 2020.

[puppetshcw]

DREAME ( 드림미 ) is a south korean girl group under OCTAVIA MUSIC CO., a sub-label of GLASSHOUSE INC. originally debuting in 2017 as STUPID CUPID under MIGHTY DEVIL, five-member group—CHESKA, AIMEE, TOMIE, JEANNE, and VIVA—was known for their vibrant, quirky concept as chaotic cupids. rebranded as DREAME in 2024, the group now embraces a darker, more introspective theme, portraying puppets fighting for freedom from unseen forces.

(⠀ ⋆ ⠀)⠀⠀ INDIVIDUAL PROFILES ⠀⠀! 

life  was  hard  for  CHIEKO  for  most  of  her  childhood  years.  she  grew  up  in  a  low-income  family  of  three,  struggling  to  live  and  knowing  about  the  cruelties  of  life  before  every  other  child  her  age  could.  her  mother  tried  everything  to  make  things  easier  for  her  child,  but  chieko  can  remember  every  night  the  older  woman  burst  into  tears  as  she  struggled  with  bills  slowly  racking  up  on  the  table.  her  education  was  going  downhill  because  the  more  she  refused  to  go  to  school,  in  worry  that  she’ll  trouble  her  mother  even  more.  when  she  was  only  twelve,  chieko  passed  an  audition  to  be  a  member  of  AKB48  as  their  fifteenth  member  of  the  ninth  generation.  she  promoted  as  a  group  member  until  2014  when  she  announced  she  would  be  graduating  from  the  group  and  moving  to  south  korea  company  due  to  being  scouted.  this  created  a  divide  among  her  fans,  with  most  complaining  about  how  unfair  she  was  to  other  group  members  and  how  she  never  belonged  in  akb48.  despite  all  that,  chieko  moved  to  korea  where  she  trained  in  MIGHTY  DEVIL  with  other  trainees  and  was  supposed  to  debut  around  2016.  however,  that  plan  failed  once  half  the  trainees  of  CUPID’s  PROJECT  left,  leaving  only  chieko  and  four  other  members  to  debut  in  2017  as  STUPID  CUPID, later rebranded as DREAME.  chieko,  going  as  CHESKA  in  the  group,  received  the  roles  of  LEADER,  LEAD  VOCALIST  and  LEAD  DANCER,  showing  her  vocals  off  more  than  when  she  was  in  akb48.

given name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ yanase  chieko  (  柳瀬  知恵子  )

stage name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ cheska  (  체스카  )

birthday  ⭒ ⠀⠀ april  6th,  1997

birthplace  ⭒ ⠀⠀ sapporo,  japan

ethnicity  ⭒ ⠀⠀ japanese

height  ⭒ ⠀⠀ 5′4″  /  162cm

positions  ⭒ ⠀⠀ leader,  lead  vocalist,  lead  dancer 

face claim  ⭒ ⠀⠀ minatozaki sana

AMY  was  born  in  san  diego  as  the  only  child  of  the  family.  when  she  was  only  five  years  old,  her  parents  divorced,  dividing  everything  they  had  together,  as  well  as  amy  and  her  attention.  the  couple  often  argued  about  who  would  take  care  of  her,  often  resulting  in  almost  physical  fights  that  the  child  had  to  watch  every  single  time.  after  a  long  custody  battle,  she  moved  to  korea  with  her  mother,  who  pretty  much  ignored  her  presence  in  the  house  not  even  two  years  later.  she  learned  how  to  be  independent  and  grew  up  spiteful  of  every  happy  couple  she  came  across  on  the  street.  due  to  her  mother’s  negligence  over  the  years,  a  thought  got  into  amy’s  head  that  she  would  never  be  accepted,  so  she  spent  her  time  joking  around,  not  thinking  seriously  about  her  life,  which  caused  her  to  almost  fail  high  school.  eventually,  she  gave  up  on  the  school  and  decided  to  become  an  idol,  thinking  it  would  be  better  for  her.  she  auditioned  for  MIGHTY  DEVIL  RECORDS  in  2015,  immediately  being  put  in  CUPID’s  PROJECT  before  later  re-branding  to  STUPID  CUPID and then to DREAME.  unfortunately  for  her,  the  idol  life  never  helped  her  forget  her  past.  more  often  than  she  liked,  AIMEE  would  lock  herself  in  her  room  and  completely  shut  down  her  members.  this  continued  for  a  good  couple  of  years  before  she  got  enough  courage  to  get  to  know  her  group.  she  debuted  as  the  stupid  cupid’s  LEAD  RAPPER  and  LEAD  VOCALIST,  often  dabbling  in  both  once  the  opportunity  arises.

given name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ amy huang ( 艾美黃 )

stage name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ aimee  (  에이미  )

birthday  ⭒ ⠀⠀ may  9th,  1998

birthplace  ⭒ ⠀⠀ san diego, usa

ethnicity  ⭒ ⠀⠀ taiwanese

height  ⭒ ⠀⠀ 5′5″  /  165cm

positions  ⭒ ⠀⠀ lead rapper,  lead  vocalist

face claim  ⭒ ⠀⠀ yeh shuhua

DANIELLE  started  her  career  in  britain  as  a  child  actress,  growing  up  in  front  of  blinding  cameras.  her  older  sister,  DAVINA,  followed  in  her  footsteps  a  couple  of  years  later  as  a  child  model,  making  her  the  second  sibling  out  of  three  to  become  a  known  name  in  the  family.  while  danielle’s  father  was  a  well-respected  name  in  his  own  company,  her  mother  was  more  of  a  freelance  artist  who  had  a  habit  of  staying  at  home  more  than  she  needed  to.  over  time,  danielle  saw  less  and  less  of  her  parents,  who  were  slowly  falling  apart  while  she  was  busy  building  her  acting  career.  because  of  that,  danielle  grew  up  spoiled  due  to  not  having  the  right  people  taking  care  of  her,  which  quickly  went  into  her  pretty  little  head.  it  didn’t  take  long  for  the  paparazzi  to  reveal  more  about  her  family,  managing  to  scope  out  all  the  dirty  secrets  her  father  did  in  his  company;  fraud,  bribery  and  scamming  being  only  the  tip  of  the  iceberg.  after  her  father  went  to  prison,  danielle  gave  up  on  acting  and  moved  to  south  korea  with  the  rest  of  her  family  to  turn  a  new  leaf  and  forget  about  everything  left  in  britain.  in  2014,  danielle  was  accepted  into  GLASSHOUSE  and  mentioned  by  the  company  as  their  new  soloist;  however,  that  plan  failed  once  people  caught  wind  of  her  father’s  despicable  actions  and  proceeded to  boycott  the  company  again.  danielle  decided  to  move  to  MIGHTY  DEVIL  and  train  for  three  years  under  CUPID’s  PROJECT  before  she  was  officially  announced  as  a  member  of  STUPID  CUPID  ( now DREAME ) as  their  MAIN  VOCALIST,  LEAD  DANCER  and  FACE  OF  THE  GROUP.  while  her  father’s  scandal  is  still  being  mentioned  and  the  netizens  send  hate  to  her,  TOMIE  refuses  to  acknowledge  it  as  she  continues  to  be  a  part  of  dreame.

given name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ danielle kang ( 다니엘강 )

stage name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ tomie  (  토미  )

birthday  ⭒ ⠀⠀ february  13th,  1999

birthplace  ⭒ ⠀⠀ oxford, england

ethnicity  ⭒ ⠀⠀ south korean

height  ⭒ ⠀⠀ 5′6″  /  167cm

positions  ⭒ ⠀⠀ main  vocalist,  lead  dancer,  face  of  the  group

face claim  ⭒ ⠀⠀ jang  eunseong ( main ) & song hyemin / emma ( second )

JEANNE  was  born  in  nice,  france  and  is  an  only  child  in  the  lee  family;  however,  it  never  felt  that  way.  it  seemed  like  she  was  consistently  surrounded  by  her  cousins  and  grandma,  whom  she  never  liked.  whenever  her  parents  were  too  busy  with  work,  they  left  her  in  the  arms  of  her  spiteful  grandmother.  jeanne  grew  up  to  be  a  peculiar  child,  antisocial  and  locked  up  in  her  room  most  days.  she  was  taught  to  keep  everything  to  herself,  be  quiet,  and  listen  to  what  her  elders  say.  it  was  hell  for  her  until  she  went  on  a  holiday  to  south  korea,  wanting  to  learn  more  about  the  country  where  her  family  came  from.  her  reason  for  applying  for  the company  has  always  been  that  she  had  nothing  to  lose;  therefore,  she  did  it  only  because  it  looked  interesting  at  that  moment.  but  somewhere  deep  inside  her,  she  just  wanted  a  reason  to  escape  her  extended  family.  jeanne  never  expected  to  be  accepted  in  the  company,  let  alone  debut  in  STUPID  CUPID  ( now DREAME ) three  years  later  as  their  MAIN  RAPPER  and  LEAD  DANCER.  not  too  long  after  the  group’s  official  debut,  jeanne  got  involved  in  a  scandal  where  people  complained  about  her  straightforward  personality  and  emotionless  expressions  that  creeped  out  some  people.  their  main  argument  was  that  she  should  be  smiling  and  having  fun  in  front  of  the  cameras  and  not  be  a  broody  teenager.  the  scandal  followed  her  for  months,  and  it  is  still  being  mentioned  once  in  a  while.  although  jeanne  has  said  multiple  times  that  she’s  working  on  her  personality,  she  can  never  escape  her  thoughts  behind  the  scenes.

given name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ jeanne lee ( 제안이 )

stage name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ jeanne  (  제안  )

birthday  ⭒ ⠀⠀ february  24th,  1999

birthplace  ⭒ ⠀⠀ nice, france

ethnicity  ⭒ ⠀⠀ south korean

height  ⭒ ⠀⠀ 5′5″  /  165cm

positions  ⭒ ⠀⠀ main  rapper,  lead  dancer

face claim  ⭒ ⠀⠀ lee gahyun

CHAEWON  was  raised  in  a  strict  christian  family  as  a  single  child.  everything  she  knew  was  learned  by  watching  her  parents  and  following  in  their  footsteps.  every  saturday,  chaewon  would  be  tutored  to  get  better  in  her  class,  while  every  sunday  was  saved  for  the  church  her  parents  dragged  her  to.  not  long  after,  her  mother  forced  her  to  go  to  ballet  classes,  mostly  because  she  was  a  famous  ballerina.  not  wanting  to  disappoint  her  mother,  little  chaewon  forced  herself  to  wake  up  every  weekend  at  five  in  the  morning,  run  a  couple  of  blocks  with  her  athletic  father,  and  then  run  off  to  make  it  to  her  ballet  classes,  where  only  more  pain  awaited.  due  to  her  teacher’s  brutal  ways  of  teaching,  chaewon  would  come  home  with  bruises  hidden  behind  the  long  sleeves  of  her  hoodies.  when  a  couple  of  years  passed,  chaewon  realised  that  ballet  was  not  something  she  enjoyed  but  was  too  afraid  to  admit  it  to  her  mother,  who  was  obsessed  with  the  thought  of  her  daughter  following  her  footsteps  in  becoming  as  famous  as  she  once  was.  the  pressure  was  suffocating  the  teenager,  who  decided  to  end  it  and  finally  confess  to  her  mother  about  her  decision  to  become  an  idol. furious  at  her  “rebellious”  daughter,  chaewon’s  mother  practically  threw  her  out  of  their  home  and  refused  to  let  her  in  unless  she  changed  her  mind  about  the  ridiculous  plan  she  had.  stubborn  as  her  mother,  chaewon  moved  to  live  with  her  grandparents,  who  were  ecstatic  to  see  her  grow  up  with  them.  when  chaewon  was  fifteen  years  old,  she  was  approached  by  a  staff  member  who  claimed  to  be  from  a  company  slowly  rising  into  fame.  intrigued  and  curious,  chaewon  decided  to  audition  and  was  accepted  a  month  later.  it  took  two  long  years  for  something  to  happen,  but  the  seventeen-year-old  chaewon  finally  achieved  her  dream  and  debuted  in  DREAME  as  the  group’s  MAIN  DANCER,  LEAD  VOCALIST,  VISUAL  and  MAKNAE,  using  the  name  VIVA  as  her  stage  name. 

given name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ hong chaewon ( 홍채원 )

stage name  ⭒ ⠀⠀ viva  (  비바  )

birthday  ⭒ ⠀⠀ march  26th,  2000

birthplace  ⭒ ⠀⠀ jeonju, south korea

ethnicity  ⭒ ⠀⠀ south korean

height  ⭒ ⠀⠀ 5′8″  /  173cm

positions  ⭒ ⠀⠀ main  dancer,  lead  vocalist,  visual,  maknae

face claim  ⭒ ⠀⠀ choi yena

[sugar-plum-writer]

The Serene Peony Of Winter

Paring: Sukuna!King of Curses x Fem!Geisha Reader

Tags: Slight! mention of violence; Fem!reader; Sukuna!imagines; will be 18+ as more chapters come; slow!burn, [I want to have a good build up!], an ancient Japan romance through time with darling reader~

[If you all like it, please heart and reblog the post! to know you want to read more~ and follow for chapter updates! or leave a comment to tag you when I put out new chapters~ I will do my best to roll out UPDATES ASAP!]

New Chapter Update! @naoyagasm @janeaugustine @teonawrites @periwinkless-universe @rosemaydone321 @may-machin

CHAPTER- 4

Time froze as the icy chilling wind carried the tension raising it― swirling it around you and Sukuna devilishly wanting to see more. The reflecting still water beneath the bridge― quietly came forth― to freeze this moment, forever in its frozen waters― a frame forever lost in time

"Wh...what?" your voice trembled― eyes widened― the shock stunning you

"Are you deaf?" grabbing your wrist― pulling you close, the Wagasa slipped from your grasp― dropping to the cold ground.

His eyes bore into yours― voice calm and deep

"I said—" he leaned in, lips barely apart― sharing a breath, "If I am greedy for you— will I be able to go as far as I want?" his gaze unwavering, "Y/n?"

Like a spark, a fire had been ignited in your heart― it burned away all the ice in your veins, unlocking your soul. Blood rushed to your face as you pushed him away flustered.

But he held your wrist tighter, making you face him, forcing you to look into his blood-red-eyes

"Look at me, and tell me Y/n", he demanded, "I need an answer"

"I don't play games darling", with a smirk he chuckled

"I―", lowering your lashes as you looked away flustered

"I cannot give you an answer right now, I apologize― for I― still…have things left to do", saying these words you turned around and ran, you ran as fast as your feet allow you to― your heart slamming against your chest

He stood there as he watched your silhouette vanish with a dangerous grin― as an ominous smile tugged his lips

You ran and ran as fast as you could, bumping past all kinds of people as you entered your room and slammed the door shut― leaning against the wall and letting out a huff as your body tried to relax

The room has always felt suffocating, the last comforting place― you have been in this room since the time Oka-san announced― that it was yours when you became a Geisha.

Having met countless men, and gotten many confessions, and words of love― you were used to rejecting them without thinking twice― but none ever made you feel the way you felt today

"Oh my god…I almost said yes", you sat still not recovered from yesterday's incident, curling up to your knees and burying your face

"I cannot… after all…", your eyes emotionless staring at the tatami mat― the air heavy with your gloom― as shadows reflected from your heart to your soul

"I need to finish what I have started"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Some days had passed, and your usual routine played. Changed into your night clothes― you sat trembling― as beads of sweat glistened down your skin― and fear reverberated in the air

"I have given you time long enough, either you tell me— or I make that mouth of yours talk", a dominating voice boomed, dripping with malice

"S-Sukuna…why…why are you after me?", you gulp trying not to scream as everyone is asleep

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes…I do", raising your head you looked him in the eyes― fearful of what was to come

With a snap of his fingers― all the candles extinguished as an ominous feeling tugged at your heart― in an impulse you crawled close to him

It was the right choice as the moment you did, curses beyond what your eyes could see, appeared throughout the room. Crawling from the floors to the walls, hiding in every nook and cranny— with heart wrenching screams echoing throughout the room.

"This is why", he chuckled pulling you close by the waist

"To have so many curses latch onto you, of so many types", he raised your chin, gazing into your eyes

"Makes even me, The King of Curses wonder what is your story y/n?"

Terrified of what you saw, you clasped his hands tightly afraid

"All…all of these? They…are connected to me?", your throat felt dry― stomach churned with anxiety and you felt nauseous

"Curses are born from negative feelings and emotions, To have so many, how much do you bury in your heart Y/n? It is a grave of your cursed feelings, you cursed yourself", he chuckled, and with a raise of his hand― they were all diced, slaughtered into pieces― contrary to dying surprisingly they regenerated.

"Shall I help you, get rid of the curse in your heart Y/n? Forever breaking the chains tying you"

Footnote: Check out masterlist for all chapters!

[ranchstoryblog]

PRESS RELEASE: Second Annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase’ Delivers Exciting Updates on Fan-favorite STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory Series; Reveals NARUTO: Arcade Battle for North America, and More

Second Annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase’ Delivers Exciting Updates on Fan-favorite STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory Series; Reveals NARUTO: Arcade Battle for

North America, and More

New Looks for Additional Titles in Development Include Opening Animation for

Monster Farming / Action Title Farmagia and Striking New Teaser for DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion

TORRANCE, Calif., — May 30, 2024 — Marvelous USA, Inc. and XSEED Games today shared a localized version of parent company Marvelous Inc.’s second annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase,’ which debuted today at 3:00pm PT. President Suminobu Sato hosted the showcase and was joined by key members of development teams to provide updates on titles announced in last year's event, and announce new regional and global initiatives for the Marvelous family of companies.

Farmagia (formerly Project Magia): Product Manager Takehiro Ishida revealed the official title of the project, Farmagia, and presented the game’s opening animation, giving gamers an action-packed look at the cast of characters and powers they wield. Ishida-san also shared details on key characters in the game, designed by popular artist Hiro Mashima, including Ten, the protagonist who often acts before thinking; Arche, his childhood friend who balances both kindness and a competitive nature; Chica, another childhood friend with a more reserved demeanor; and Lookie-Loo, Ten’s sidekick and de-facto mascot. The title is planned for a global release in 2024.

STORY OF SEASONS: The next, as-yet-untitled entry in the beloved franchise continues its development as the team focuses on improvements to the visual presentation and natural environments. Series Manager Hikaru Nakano joined to debut a fresh look at the results of their efforts, highlighting how aspects such as updated natural lighting and festival fireworks have been improved to enhance immersion and atmosphere. The project remains in active development and will be fully revealed at a later date. In the meantime, Nakano-san confirmed new gameplay features including a player-controlled glider and the return of fan-favorite pets.

Amusement Section: Marvelous Inc. supports more than just PC and console entertainment and announced a number of new arcade initiatives including NARUTO: Arcade Battle, which will be available in North America this summer. Players will experience the world of NARUTO on a massive 50” screen, where they’ll engage in intense ninjutsu battles and collect plates to reach the highest rank they can! Arcade titles for Japan release only were also presented.

Indie Partner Lineup: The Marvelous family continues to invest in helping creative and exciting visions from smaller indie developers become a reality with global support for titles! Titles introduced for worldwide release include Bitsummit 2023 Grand Prize winner Death the Guitar, where players become an electric guitar fighting with the power of death metal to avenge their owner, planned for a 2025 release; and Moonlight Peaks, the supernatural-themed vampire farming/life sim title from Dutch developer Little Chicken, scheduled for 2026 release. One additional title, Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, was also presented for release in Asia and Japan by Marvelous on July 28, 2024.

Rune Factory: Following a brief history on the evolution of the Rune Factory series and how it has grown across nine titles released over 18 years, Rune Factory series Director Shiro Maekawa joined the stream to reveal a new video for Rune Factory: PROJECT DRAGON sharing a look at the title’s protagonists. Players can choose to play as either Subaru or Kaguya, two new Earthmates with a twist; they will use the power of dance, rather than farming, to communicate and interact with the world around them. This new approach to interacting with the world comes with non-combat tools, including parasols and drums; series staple weapons like swords; and brand-new weapon types to experiment with, including bows and talismans.

DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion: First revealed during last year’s Marvelous Game Showcase, DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion once again closed out the show, where President Sato-san shared an evocative look at Marvelous’ First Studio’s mech-action sequel.  Additional details including platforms and a release window will be announced at a later date.

To celebrate the Showcase, select STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory titles will be on sale for up to 60% off on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch™ through June 7, 2024.

More information about XSEED Games’ products can be found at www.xseedgames.com Fans can also follow XSEED Games on Facebook, X, Instagram, Twitch, Threads, get in depth info from their developer blog, and join the discussion on their Discord server at: http://discord.gg/XSEEDGames.

About XSEED Games

XSEED Games is the independent-minded publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvelous Inc., which is a publicly traded company listed in the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Formed in 2004 by a small group of industry veterans, XSEED Games is headquartered in Torrance, California and publishes video games on PC and consoles in North America. The publisher's diverse portfolio of over 100 titles includes releases from Marvelous Inc. including STORY OF SEASONS (Bokujo Monogatari), Rune Factory, and DAEMON X MACHINA, titles from third-party partners including AKIBA’S TRIP, Corpse Party, and Granblue Fantasy: Versus, and titles from independent developers including Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, Potionomics and Cuisineer. XSEED Games has grown its reputation among global gamers with its critically acclaimed localizations and commitment to fans, remaining ever dedicated to its “indie spirit, player-first” approach for quality games.

[spiraphobia-scans]

Project Announcement - "N"

Yes, it’s just a single-letter title. Since I’m nearing the end of the first volume of Tonari No Jii-san, I decided to pick up another intriguing series. I always wonder - what is it about Japan and its creepy rural towns? And why am I so drawn to these kinds of stories? Heh.

The story is by Kurumu Akumu, with art by Niko to Game. I don’t want to give anything away by sharing the synopsis - you can go check it out yourself.

Read the first chapter of N at Mangadex

[konjaku]

山萩[Yamahagi] Lespedeza bicolor

The leaves of Hagi also turn color, to yellow. The reddish coloring of leaves is called 紅葉[Kōyō] and the yellowish coloring is called 黄葉[Kōyō]. Since both are read the same, 黄葉 is often read as ōyō. These are also read as momiji.

By the way, today, November 7, 2024 is 立冬[Rittō](The first day of winter). And 木枯らし一号[Kogarashi ichi-gō](the first wintry blast) blew in the Tokyo region and the Kinki region.

The strong winds that blow in late autumn and early winter are called 木枯らし|凩[Kogarashi](lit. gale that scatters leaves from trees) and the Japan Meteorological Agency announces the first of those northerly wind of wind force five or higher that blew this year as 木枯らし一号[-ichi-gō](First). There is no such as 二号[Ni-gō](Second), 三号[San-gō](Third), etc. Their conditions vary slightly by region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogarashi_Monjirō

[elitehanitje]

After winning, Zack thanked TMDK especially Shane and Mikey for being his family in Japan. Chris Brookes then surprised Zack at the press conference and congratulated him. Zack seemed moved and got teary 💐 especially when he gave him a hug and kiss.

Chris then tweeted this, expressing his emotions:

"To tell the truth, that's what I thought. "Let's watch from the balcony, so we don't cause any trouble..." However, when Chono-san came in... "G1 Climax Tournament Winners 1991, 1992, 1994, 2002, 2005" Announced over the PA. I left the balcony and ran downstairs to the Blue Corner. I had to meet with Zach again and tell him to do his best before the match. He did his best. He did his best. I really cried a lot. From now on, I want to create similar memories for other people."

[akkivee]

HAPPY 7 YEARS OF HYPMIC EVERYONE 🎰🥳🎰🥳🎰🥳

to celebrate, i’m just going to list seven moments hypmic irrevocably changed the trajectory of my entire life lmao

1️⃣ buying the lives was probably the best worst thing i could have ever done to myself lmao. by the time i’d realised you could buy them, only the 2nd&3rd lives were out on dvd (they’re bundled together on one set), and though it wasn’t the first hypmic purchase i made, it kicked off the lives obsession lol. the 2nd live in particular blew my mind lol it was the first time most of the cast were on stage for hypmic and i’ll never forget the happy surprise on kijima-san’s face when the crowd screamed along to his call and response parts in drb lol. on top of that, kimura beatboxed live on stage confirming it really was ichiro beatboxing, shiraimu and nozu in lieu of souma-san’s absence gave it their all singing his parts and nozu dropped the sickest freestyle, and the samajuto cigarette kiss was born and so thoroughly rewired everyone’s brains, it just became part of samatoki’s character lmao

2️⃣ this list very easily can be just about the lives lol but i also loved getting to watch them live lol. forever and always 🖕🖕corona but getting to sidestep around abema’s booboo dookie region locks to watch the 5th live set off a precedence for needing to live watch them lmao. it’s probably the snowball that kicked off the avalanche that convinced me to try to go to japan for the first time in ten years, give or take, and bat’s 8th live day two was their most special live yet lmao

3️⃣ ITS NOT A LIVE ITS A STREAM LOL but the moment the kuukou brainrot roundhouse kicked me in the face was watching kuukou’s spirit possess hayama-san in real time lol i would have saved myself from so much heartbreak if i had stayed a matenhoe but nooooooo kuukou had to manifest in his seiyuu and i haaaaaad to watch it happen live and now i’m kuukou’s btch 🙄

4️⃣ wanna know how i became a matenrou stan lol???? jakurai’s voice introducing matenrou to the world in drb and hifumi flexing the love his women give to him makes him filthy rich lmao

5️⃣ i’ve felt a lot of frustration whilst mucking about in hypmic land, but i don’t think i have ever experienced as frustrating emotional rollercoaster ride more than the one hypstage has taken me on lmao!!!!! hypmic sneakily changing their description of the franchise from ‘voice project’ to ‘multimedia project’ when it was announced, okay actually showing a fantastic story despite hypmic’s ‘lack’ of one back in the day, nagosaka getting introduced and giving us simultaneously the best and ‘worst’ depiction of kuukou, only exclude them in the following tracks lmaooo, creating a really cool concept for mixing division pairs with an oridivi only for it to get cancelled like genuinely 🖕🖕covid but rolling up with the greatest comeback in the form of the rep lives where in the middle of the run we were given the best kuukou performance yet, shortly followed by the announcement that everyone was graduating!!!!!!!! but bop 2023 was magical; a fantastic send off to a legendary cast and closure to the pinnacle of stage production and hypmic storytelli— the stage was rebooted six months later in an absolute betrayal that was quite literally assuaged my love for hypmic, hatred for nelke and getting REAL WOMEN on stage lmao

6️⃣ and so like lemme circle back around to bat’s 8th live lmao. do you know how crazy that time was lol???? bat stans threw together a really sick flower display at a local flower shop, crowdfunded to make the lights display in this popular mall in nagoya shine purple for them, bars dedicating drinks for bat and welcoming live goers for an after party drink, day two of the live fell on bat’s 3rd anniversary and a few days prior they dropped the bright and dark mv for hypstage and the hella awesome banquet mv that bat stans ripped to shreds analysing jp bat fans my BELOVED lmao november is truly a bat month lol but anyway the 8th live was a peak time and i miss it daily!!!!!!!!

7️⃣ instead of being really gross and sappy about kuukou or the piece of merch that got me into hypmic lol shoutout to the music like actually lol. dba locked me in the moment i listened to it and i think very fondly of those days going thru the youtube for more lol. gave me a refreshed appreciation for music, esp jp music, got me to listen to more music instead of the couple hundred or so songs i’ve been listening to since i was in middle school LOL. so thanks hypmic, for giving me peak dissociation songs (like tigridia), the hypest shit that had me yelling (like moonlight shadow) and songs that had my heart racing at 3 in the morning and thoroughly unable to sleep lol (can you believe kaigen exists in this world and they let that shit drop during bat vs mtr 6th live and bc the bat seiyuu’s stage presence is just top tier they blew it out of the park frame one and she says the brainrot didn’t truly settle until live watching hayama-san get possessed but the damage was truly done listening to that calced cacophony of noise and in the ensuing silence as hayama-san’s ‘kaigen’ echoed throughout the studio OH IM GOING TO BE SICK—)

[ynnova]

had yn ever encountered any sasaeng(s) / bad encounter with a atiny during a fan event ?

ooooooo yeah, you have def had a few share of sasaeng / bad atiny encounters over the last six years.

KHJCULT AKA JANET

one really infamous one is the sasaeng fansite account khjcult aka janet. she's probably one of the most known sasaengs in the atiny fandom especially when it comes to you. originally, she started out as a hongjoong fansite and has been following you all since pre-debut. her being a hongjoong fansite lasted all but for ateez's debut as she quickly started posting photos of you instead for "say my name" and "hala hala" era. it wasn't until around late 2019 to early 2020 when she started to become obsessive fan and following you and ateez to all your schedules, even when that weren't announced to fans.

you of course obviously started to recognize her the more she started showing up and it would freak you out; however, you didn't fully know how to deal with it. especially with ateez still being a new group and everything – you didn't want to cause problems. eventually, the guys would also pick up on how tense you would get when you would spot janet at events, and try their best to keep you away from her. you honestly felt sick every time you seen janet show up to a schedule.

hongjoong would even ask "fans" a few times to please respect your boundaries, but of course janet didn't take the hint (more like ignored it). unfortunately, you and janet did have an encounter around 2022 where she got into a fansign and had grabbed your wrist when you wouldn't answer her specific questions (personally ones that she doesn't need to know about) and it was after this that kq actually blacklisted her from events.

following this, however, janet started rumors about you. feeling "betrayed" by her favorite idol, she began spreading rumors that you were sleeping with several different members. the most notable one was yunho and pictures were also posted of you and yunho when you were in japan together at a restaurant. however, atiny didn't really believe her in this and you and kq even filed a lawsuit for defamation as she was trying to ruin your career and image. you won 💕

OTHER BAD ENCOUNTERS

some other bad encounters was when an atiny literally threw your drink in your face at the fansign following the announcement of you and san dating. claiming you "stole san from her" and the fan was quickly escorted out of the building.

another sasaeng even tried to drag you off stage at a festival, thankfully, wooyoung noticed just as the guy was trying to drag you off stage and had grabbed ahold of you and didn't let go even when your managers and event staff had come and almost tackled to the guy. fans noted how they had never seen wooyoung as mad before as in that moment.

an incident similar to the 2022 janet encounter, this sasaeng had been popping up at a lot of different events to where the guys were beginning to recognize him even. he showed up to a fansign and kind of brushed the guys off when they were signing his album – his questions mainly revolving around you and it was starting to lowkey piss some of them off with how invasive they were. like he even tried to ask yeosang what positions you slept in?? true weirdo behavior.

and it only got worse when he got to you, asking questions that again, weren't his business. he was also very adamant on trying to take you out after the fansign, but you kept turning him down. eventually, he grabbed your wrist really tightly and repeatedly asked you to go out with him and that you "owed" him because of how much support he gave you. thankfully, when hongjoong (who was right next to you) noticed what was happening, he ripped you away from the guy who was the taken away. you were so shaken up about it that you had to take a small break before finishing the fansign.

the guys have definitely gotten more protective over you since these incidents have happened and you've become a lot more cautious at events because of them.

those are just like the most notable moments. but you def have had several solo stans coming after you whenever you do anything that doesn't involve the guys. like when you made your acting debut, went to different fashion shows for fashion week, or voiced for a character in ffvii remake... your antis were throwing so much dirt at you. and then when it was announced for the world ep. fin that you would have a solo song... it was so bad that you cried about it for several nights until hongjoong finally went live and told people that if you can't support one member then you can't support them all. that shut most of them up. mainly the solo stans are just jealous of you because you obviously get to be with their fav and they don't.

[tamapalace]

Bandai Japan Announces Tamagotchi Original Tama Time Travel Shell

What do we have here? The Convention Tamagotchi Original shell is here, just weeks  before the San Diego Comic-Con 2024! This Tamagotchi Original not only has a unique time travel themed shell, and P1 programming, but also incredibly beautiful and unique packing! The box features some of your favorite Tamagotchi’s in comic corm on the cover, and when you open it up you’ll not only be greeted by the beautiful shell placed int he center, but also a beautiful comic! We’re in love.

For the first time, this convention exclusive shell will be available worldwide at the same time. Available in Japan at an upcoming pop-up shop, available in France at the Japan Expo, and lastly, available in the Untied States at the san Diego Comic-Con! It’ll also be sold at other upcoming events, so stay tuned! No word on pricing, but we’re sure its around $29.99 USD.

[jadeazora]

New San-ei plushies for the Raidons have been announced, releasing in early October in Japan!